Going outside and waiting for Spring

With rising temperature and melting snowpack, it is difficult not to think about Spring.  Nowadays, I try to go outside whenever the weather is nice and I need a break from computer work so that I can discover that first hint of Spring (from a flower, insect, bird call, anything!).

Almost a week ago, it was still pretty cold when I was walking along the Rideau River.

Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

November update

I apologize for not posting anything until the end of the month, but life is getting too busy for me to take breaks just for photographs.  During this month, I bought a year-long student membership to the Museum of Nature (and went there twice already), took up swimming during lunch breaks, and went out bird-watching three times.

Early November when the temperature was still pleasant enough to sit outside.  I was sitting on a bench and studying for my biological modeling midterm before taking this photo.

May update #2 - From Colorado

Since my last post, the weather has been a roller coaster ride.  It can be snowing in the morning, the snow melting and sky clearing up by mid-day, but then back to snowing in the afternoon.

Anyways, while it is snowing really hard outside right now, I have entered the data I collected yesterday, sorted my photos taken the past few days, and then decided to write this post.

May 9th

My labmate was examining cocoons and saw these spirally frass inside a cocoon.  Based on the orange colour, we suspect it is one of the composite-specialist bees - either Osmia montana or O. coloradensis.

Birds, insects, and flowers of the community garden

I tried to look for the hummingbird again this afternoon at the community garden.  It might had been too hot because very few things were active, except for insects and a few birds.  Here are some of them.

Young unknown sparrow.

Insects on dandelions & New birds of the season

I biked to school today to print off some documents.  Afterwards I went behind the office building to do some photography. 

Found two of these Ragweed Leaf Beetles (Zygogramma suturalis) scurrying away from me or playing dead.

Shaw Nature Reserve

In the morning we learned about the botanical and floral diversity in pollination biology. For example, the different mating and breeding systems for plants, as well as the history of categorizing flower types to better associate the pollinators and the appropriate pollinator syndrome.

Photographed a Syrphid during a break.


Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

In the afternoon, we headed to a different part of Missouri Botanical Garden outside the city. It is called Shaw Nature Reserve.

One of the more fulfilling wildlife-watching days this year

It took me awhile to realize that today is a holiday and that the school semester had ended two days ago. It sure is easy to lose track of days when you focus on something 24/7.

Saw a male Goldfinch on my way to school.

Insects at London Farm & Goldfinch

I visited London Farm for the first time since coming back. All the tulips are gone, replaced by other brightly-coloured flowers.

There were different kinds of insects in the garden as well.

Close-up bees, Bittern, and Eagle Pair

A good day to go out and test my new 'lens'.

Not cloudy at all.

Ladybug and Birds

I imagine that this will be the only post for the next couple days as rain head our way. Today was overcast and windy.

My first ladybug of the year. It has 19 spots (2, 3, 3, 1 on each side, from anterior to the end; and one spot right in the middle); therefore, this is a 19-Spotted Ladybug (Harmonia axyridis). It was walking along the railings of a dock. It seemed to have trouble walking against the wind, so I gently nudged it towards a depression where it can hide.

New lens (70-300) & testing it out at Yaletown and UBC

Today, I completed a deal with a seller on craiglist and got a birding-lens for my Olympus E-620, the Zuiko Digital ED 70-300 f4.0-5.6. It's a dream come true, because it can reach 600mm so I can take much closer photos now. It's a much bigger, heavier, and beautiful than I thought but it's definitely going to make my photos better.

The seller is at Yaletown so I met him there this morning. Before he arrived, I took some photos of the people and dogs walking by.

This was the cutest dog.

Another of its own.

After the deal, I couldn't wait to put it on and try it out by walking along the Granville Seawalk! Even though it is not a macro lens, it takes pretty good close-up photos of flowers too.

Seeing lots on bike ride today

This time next week, I will have arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport trying to catch a little bit of sleep before heading to my work site on Monday morning. Can't wait!

Before then, it was time for a bike ride this afternoon, and as soon as I arrived at the dyke trail, I immediately spotted a Muskrat swimming in the ditch! I haven't seen them in such a long time.

It was gone for a little while in the vegetation along the sides. But soon it appeared - eating the berry leaves - twice!

Swallows are here

I took a short break from paper editing and rode to the dyke in the afternoon.

A gray day today.

Barn swallows are back! I hope they are here to enjoy the bugs that gets in my way when I rode my bike along the dyke. Many of them flew to my face and cloth and rested there. Kind of annoying!

Showing my mother around Taipei

Yesterday, I brought my mother to Taipei Botanical Garden and showed her around in my work areas and some special sights to to see. We saw many beautiful animals and plants, but it was too hot for my mother to cope with.

The first bird that we saw a Black-billed Magpie (Pica pica), which was pretty exciting to see since Chinese people call them Lucky Bird. What a way to start off the day! Sadly, it was too well hidden for me to take decent photographs. Nevertheless, it was a sight to see.

Afterwards, I showed my mother around to see some nests of Muller's Barbets and other nesting birds that I know, such as this relatively effortless nest by the Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) made out of few grass straws.

My mother was pretty excited to see the beautiful Muller's Barbets, especially when they poked their heads out of the cavity hole and looked around. Near the Lotus Pond, we also saw this pair of Red-bellied Skimmers (Orthetrum pruinosum neglectum) mating and laying eggs on the water surface. We observed that while the female lays her eggs, the male flys above her to protect her.

Red-bellied Skimmers (Central Indian subspecies)

After we had lunch outside the garden, we headed to the college where my aunt teaches at. The college is located up on a small mountain so the view is quite nice. Over there, I saw quite a few of the common Formosan Grass Lizards (Takydromus formosanus) hiding in the roadside shrubs.

I hope I am right with my identification since there are a couple of lizards in the family Lacertidae found in Taiwan, and they all looked quite similar to me in the field guide. One main distinction is that T. formosanus has two pairs of inguinal pores, but I didn't want to stress and pick up this little fellow up to examine it more closely.

In another shrub, I saw this beautiful White-spotted Longicorn Beetle (Anoplophora macularia). They are about 24 to 35-mm in length, not including the super long antennae.

In their school garden, I also saw a couple of ladybugs, such as this Six-spotted Ladybird Beetle (Monochilus sexmaculatus).

Today is Sunday, and it is my mother's last day in Taipei. My mother, aunt, and I went shopping in the neighbourhood before we brought my mother to the train station to head back to Central Taiwan. I will not see my mother again for another three months, since she is heading back to Canada in a couple of days while I'm still staying for my volunteer work and internship. Sigh.

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More Bugs Than Birds

Not that I am bored from taking photos of birds, but it is certainly nice to take photos of animals other than birds - because I am hardly just another birder with a camera. Birds are just the majority of my photos because they are easier to spot and photograph than say, reptiles, mammals, or insects. I certainly got my wish today.

Even before I arrived at the dyke trail, this Ladybug flew into me and was caught by my hoody. I continued on biking and took photos of it when I arrived at the trail. Then off it goes again!

Tree Swallow looking for nesting materials.

Entering and Exiting

A tiny ground beetle (about 10mm in length) was saw running across the gravels.

As the plants in the Terra Nova Community Garden starting to flourish, it is also time to spot some insects, like this fly. What species is it?

Another very small beetle.

First time seeing a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). What a beauty! Since this is a strongly migratory species, it is difficult to find a perfect butterfly when it arrives here in BC. They are considered one of the most widely distributed butterflies in the world as they occur throughout North American and parts of South America. Some can even migrate as far north as the Arctic.

A partially leucistic American Robin with white spots on its head.

Bald Eagle back into the nest.

As I was staring off into the marshes, this Marsh Wren nicely flew right in front of me and started singing loudly. I quickly took a couple of photos before it flew off again.

True Spring conditions (i.e. rainy and gloomy) are returning this weekend and the following week. Sigh. Good days never last forever.

PS - A Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) was observed today (after identified by other posters at WhatBird Forums). Sadly, the pictures weren't the best quality.
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First visit to Paulik Garden

Didn't make a post yesterday because I was attending our office's Christmas Party and didn't go out to take pictures. Today, I was feeling kind of heavy-headed from all that wine that I drank last night, and so I didn't venture as far as I would have liked during the weekends.

On Friday, our local newspaper had an article on Paulik Garden, which I always find interesting and want to visit but never really have the chance. Anyways, with my condition today, I decided to keep my trip short and local and start with Paulik Garden. The weather was great today - sunny with few clouds (although I heard from my mom that it rained a bit in the morning - while I was still asleep).

Apparently Rock Paper Lizard also visited Paulik Garden today (in the morning) and had more interesting stories to tell that me. Nevertheless, now that I have visited it, the garden is indeed a special place in the midst of all the new condos surrounding it. I guess it is becoming a refuge spot for birds of that area.

The different types of habitats (for all kinds of birds) in Paulik Garden.

A butterfly "hotel" for the non-migratory butterfly species (during the winter) here in Lower Mainland.

One of my favorite things to do now - exercise my neck by looking up magnificent tall trees and taking pictures.

I only saw the common birds in the garden today, such as American Robin (Turdus migratorius) and Dark-eyed Junco. I also saw a large bird flying over me while I was taking pictures of something else. The bird flew to the tall trees and disappeared, and I couldn't find it again. Such a shame because I think it might be an eagle or an owl.

The quite abundant robins in Paulik Garden.

A bird that seems to be a robin, but it doesn't have that bright orange breast, so I am quite confused now. Maybe it's a different species all together.

Even though I know they are quite common, I still can't resist taking pictures of a fellow mammal, especially one that's giving me such a cute pose.

Slug


Lady bird resting/hiding inside a tree hole.

Afterwards, I decided to walk north because it seemed that the Garden City Community Park is quite nearby and I thought why not pay a visit while I was in the neighborhood. The first thing that I noticed when arriving at the park was the fewer number of waterfowls in the ponds. I guess the Canada Geese have continued with their migration, leaving behind the usual mallards. Mallards usually travel in a group, but I was paying attention to a smaller group of non-mallards. This group consisted of: Green-winged Teals (Anas crecca), a female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), and a male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). I guess you can even call them a group of misfits.

However, the most exciting sighting of the day was this pair of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) - a medium-sized, brown, aquatic rodent that build dens on the water just like beaver. But one distinguishable characteristic is their vertically flattened tail, which was clearly observed when I was watching them swim. They were feeding on some kind of plants in the pond. Never seen a muskrat in person, I was running around the pond trying to get decent picture with my digital camera. And these were the best that I got.

While I was on the bus heading home, I saw the clouds turning into a beautiful orange due to the sunset. So I skipped my bus stop and rode the bus all the way to Steveston to watch the sun set (in the windy cold temperature) in Garry Point Park.

Richmond's Nature Scene

I was planning to go to UBC today. But with the heavy workload this past week, I kind of slept in and didn't woke up until around 10am. So I decided to check out the local nature scenes here in Richmond instead.

I encountered these two moths when I walked out of the apartment door. Beautiful creatures when you looked at them up close. I had asked for help at bugguide.

The first spot that I checked out was Minoru Park which homes many waterfowls this fall, such as these Canadian Geese, Mallards, and Wigeons.

One sad scene at the park was seeing this deceased duck lying on the surface of the water, a casualty of the not yet arrived harsh seasons ahead. Not sure what the cause of death is but I sure hope it is not due to some diseases and that the city people come remove it soon (so that it won't contaminate the water). R.I.P.

I saw about five rabbits in the park today, which was more than last time that I was here. I don't have a good feeling about this whole situation. Sure they are cute, but I don't think overpopulation of another species (besides humans here in Richmond) will be welcomed.

To take my mind off these depressing issues that I saw in the park, I decided to pay attention to the beautiful and cheerful colours in the park.

Then I saw this pretty ladybug, but it was hiding in the shade so I nudged it to get it to move to a brighter spot. I accidentally flipped too hard and it flipped over so I quickly returned it to the more comfortable position.

Afterwards, I walked from Minoru Park to the community park in Garden City to check out the Hooded Mergansers that Hugh of Rock Paper Lizard observed - which I don't think I have ever seen one before.

Before I get to the Hooded Mergansers, I did saw some interesting things there, such as: these horny flies; playful wren (?); a lady bug underneath the leaf litter that I almost stepped on; and these tired-looking Canada Geese.
There were also many fungi here in the community park. I never noticed them before, but Richmond does have many fungi in the fall.

There were also these mysterious cream puff look-alike fungi?

Now, I finally got to the Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus)! These birds are fish-eaters and nest in tree cavities just like the Wood Ducks. The male can be identified by its black and white crest while the female has a grayish brown and shorter crest. They dive underwater to find food, and they can do so because they can change the optical refractive properties to enhance their underwater vision, as well as having a third eyelid (called nictating membrane) to act as a pair of goggles for eye protection.

I saw two males and one female in the main body of the "lake" and they were so far away (with my camera) that I decided to walked around the park one last time before heading home. But then I observed two females in an isolated and smaller "pond" at the outer edge of the park (and right across from residential areas too). Being in a smaller space, I ran back and forth as they dive away from me so that I can take some up-close pictures - which didn't turn as good as I hoped. I noticed the crest falling whenever they came right out of the water but then the crest raised right back up, it must be cool to have waterproofed "hair". My mom says they look like Marge of The Simpsons, but I don't really see the similarity, perhaps when Marge is dressed up for Halloween.

And then it was time to go home.
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